5 Types of Software Every Small Business Should Need

Running a small business presents its own set of challenges that are usually a result of not having a budget large enough to deal with them. Some of those issues could easily be resolved if it was possible to create a whole new department and other times challenges could be overcome with a software platform.

In its most basic definition within the United States, a small business is defined as one that has between 100 and 1,500 employees and in terms of revenue it could be anywhere from $1 million to $40 million. With that in mind, can you imagine how difficult it would be to staff every function within a company? Imagine trying to calculate 1,500 payroll checks! If you are a small business finding it difficult to meet every need within your day-to-day workload, it may be time to look at one or all of the following five types of software especially well-suited for today’s small business environment.

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1. Onboarding Software

It is usually difficult to find the top talent to fill an opening, no matter what industry. Although some industries are shorter staffed with a long list of potential candidates, other jobs just aren’t attractive enough to interest local groups. Therefore, when you finally find that one applicant that you feel would be a perfect match for your company, how do you onboard them? This is a program that is set up by HR to streamline many of the functions a small HR team simply doesn’t have time to manage. It helps to connect new hires with other members of the team and typically has various instructional functions as well as an entire help section where new employees can learn more about the company they now work for.

2. Benefits Administration Software

Similar in function to an onboarding program, a benefits administration program is automated to oversee all benefits currently and potentially being offered as part of a bonus package to employees. The right benefits administration software is continually monitoring various types of insurance and will then use automation to procure better coverage than a current provider. Pulpstream comes highly recommended and is yet another platform that can handle benefits administration and take a huge amount of work and stress off an overwhelmed HR department.

3. Accounting Software

While this kind of program can effectively be used by almost every department in an organization, it is typically HR that benefits from such things as being able to handle payroll and all tax forms required for annual reporting to the IRS. If the company has an accountant or bookkeeper on the team, then they would probably handle the financial and legal aspects of payroll while HR would have access to log pay grades and hours worked. Sometimes teams like R&D would use specific functions within accounting software to determine cost effectiveness and profitability of new products being developed. It all depends on what accounting software is utilized and how many add-ons or accompanying apps are available.

4. Business Management Software

Here is another kind of software that can literally be beneficial to almost every department within a company. Not only can it take on tasks formerly handled by project management software, but it can also help with scheduling and other functions within given departments. It is recommended that this particular type of platform that can be used by all departments would do best as SaaS.

Software as a Service is a Cloud based platform that can be accessed by anyone with access permissions. Typically, department heads, HR and management have access, but key team leaders may as well. It can be accessed at any time of day and from any remote location as well. For those workaholics who like to take a bit of work home with them, SaaS has been a major boon.

5. Video Conferencing Platform

Finally, a good video conferencing platform is perfect for companies that have a remote workforce. Whether a remote team is collaborating with an in-house team or sales teams are meeting with clients, much can be done via teleconferencing as has been evidenced over the past couple years of a global pandemic. Zoom and Skype are highly rated by businesses, but there are other platforms out there you might want to check into.

Final words

As you can clearly see from each of the above types of software, not only can businesses function more efficiently but at a significant reduction in overhead. Whether you have 10 or 100 employees on your payroll, the cost of operating a small business keeps going up while profit margins remain much the same. If software with AI can automate some of your processes, you will begin to see profitability increase proportionately. Isn’t it time to let technology help you work smarter rather than harder? These five software platforms are designed to do just that.

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